


Starlight Shackles

by cootpancake



Series: Pancake's Starbucks Sippy Cup [7]
Category: Paladins: Champions Of The Realm (Video Game)
Genre: (implied anyway) - Freeform, Arguing, Confessions, Emotional Hurt, First Kiss, Kidnapping, M/M, Rescue Missions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-09
Updated: 2019-09-09
Packaged: 2020-11-02 01:48:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,574
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20580737
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cootpancake/pseuds/cootpancake
Summary: Jenos had never felt this before, he felt awful for letting something like this happen, and under his watch as well. He was the one who bestowed power and knowledge unto Buck, so it should've been his job to protect him. But it had all happened too fast, and the god hadn't even noticed until morning.The Magistrate's search for heavenly power never did end, and they would stop at nothing to get their hands on it.





	Starlight Shackles

**Author's Note:**

> 'The one where the Magistrate snatches up Buck because he's got heavenly power too but he's only human therefore easier to catch and Jenos feels really bad'
> 
> This is poorly written, quickly thrown together and not proofread, I'm going through a writers block so I've been jotting down all that I can.

The Resistance sat in silence around the campfire in the early morning, only embers were left to glow at the base of the wood and lines of smoke drifted through the air. It was tense, nobody liked it, they didn't realise how empty everyday would feel without Buck by their side. How the man never failed to brighten up everyone's mood and keep spirits feeling lively, but it had been two days and there was no sign of him returning.

The first day without him, there was no suspicion, considering he always left in the early morning to meditate with Jenos, but when the sun started to set over the horizon, the Resistance was wary, even more so when the god himself had asked for Buck's whereabouts. That had set off the Resistance, all of them starting to go into a strange state of panic.

But now they sat in the early hours of morning, all silently waiting. They watched over Jenos, who sat in silence as he meditated deep in thought, the god attempted to establish a connection between himself and Buck, even if it was only for a few moments, since all the Resistance was looking for, was a sign that he was okay, any sign they could get would be enough for them for now.

Jenos could feel his mind straining, it had never been this hard to intertwine his mind with Buck before, but he could feel it, a wavering connection that he could grab onto, yet it seemed so far away. He felt his own mind slightly jolt, letting his body be pulled into a world inside his own mind, it was a faint, weak connection, but he managed to hold on. He could faintly hear Buck's voice, see a fading image of him, but there was a struggle to maintain their link.

_"I-I don't got a lot of time... Not sure where the hell I am, probably some Magistrate castle or something, there's red banners everywhere..." _A hollow echo of Buck's voice rang out over the dreamworld landscape. It was quiet, but Jenos could still hear it.

_"Can you inform me what is going on? Is there anything else you can tell me?" _Jenos tried to hold onto the connection, but he could feel it slipping through his fingers, he waited for Buck to reply, but his figure faded away into nothing and the god was thrust back into reality. Startling himself upwards and scaring the life out of Resistance members, but Valera hushed them, trying to keep a kind of focus to prevent another panic at the loss of one of their own.

"Well? Were you able to do anything?" Valera softly commanded, dropping her usually strong and powerful voice, not wanting to seem overbearing, as the Resistance was already exhausted. Jenos swallowed thickly in his throat, he was clearly nervous.

"Not much was able to be uncovered, however, from what I was able to find out, he is currently in Magistrate hands. He recalls many red banners and his body is currently very weak, I would assume that whoever has their hands on him, they have not treated him kindly. However, he is unsure of his exact whereabouts." The god's words caused other members to shudder at the thought of one of their friendliest members being treated so poorly.

"You would be able to pinpoint his location, correct? It would make it much easier in getting him out of wherever he is as soon as possible." Valera spoke again, trying to keep her own composure even though she was also on edge.

"It would take me a few hours, but if you need me to, then it is not out of the realm of things I can do." Jenos kept his voice quiet, he could feel his own body about to shake, and he didn't want to break, even though he felt responsible for what happened.

"We should start with that then, we don't want to rush in without any kind of plan. So if we find out his current location, then we will be able to start working on any kind of rescue if need be." Valera dismissed the Resistance, and Jenos left without any warning.

\-----------

"So this is him?"

"Yes, Grand Magister"

Karne leaned down, leveling himself with the man that was forced to kneel on the floor, hands chained behind his back. The magister observed all his edges, reaching out to run his thumb over the red diamond that sat in the centre of his forehead.

"House Aico tried to get a leg up on us for a while, but even they failed to get a lead on anything. Hopefully we'll be able to handle this a lot better, we'll take smaller steps, but those steps will take us further. It appears this one has had Magistrate affiliations before, so hopefully this will be a simple process. Make yourself useful and bring me his records." Karne stood up and shooed the servant out of the prison cell. The cell was large, spacious yet very empty.

Buck fidgeted on the floor, chains and shackles were digging into his large muscles, sure to leave marks for later. He still wasn't completely sure why they wanted him in the first place, since he was pretty certain that he was just a rogue monk with a shotgun. He felt really bad that he wasn't able to keep up his connection with Jenos, but his body was too weak and struggled to maintain a proper link, and Karne's probing wasn't helping him focus.

"In case you are at all curious as to why you are here, word got around after Jenos' return that he gave you part of his power and knowledge, so we brought you here in hopes that we will be able to convince you to aid the Magistrate." Karne looked down his nose at Buck, he had a sickly smile plastered to his face.

Karne didn't have to say the last part for Buck to pick up on the undertones of it. He knew that if he was convinced to join, then it would put Jenos is a strange spot, but he swore to himself that he wouldn't budge, his allegiances wouldn't change, not again.

"Not much of a talker now, hey? It's alright, you'll come around to us."

Buck just needed to speak to Jenos.

\-----------

The sun had long since gone down, the moon sat high in the sky. Jenos and Valera were awake during the nighttime hours, the two of them sat next to a map, marking out houses and paths with blue light. While the god did not tire, Valera grew wearier with every moment, the dark bags under her eyes feeling as if they would drag her into sleep.

"So here is correct? I just want to make sure so that we can start work on our plan." Valera circled a finger around the main castle in the nearby city, her finger dragging across the map and brushing against it's dry surface.

"From what I've discovered, that should be exactly the location, however I was not able to uncover where in the castle." Jenos hovered next to Valera, holding her up with one arm to prevent her from collapsing in exhaustion. His eyes traced over the map, memorising every line, alleyway and building. It would be a strain, but at this point, his desperation was growing, even though nobody saw it.

"If we finish our plans tonight, let the rest of our group know, we should be good to go for the next day." Valera was practically stumbling, her body melting into the floor.

"I won't allow that, we will continue in the morning, you must get some rest first. When you have more energy, we will be able to make well thought out decisions, so in the morning, we will continue."

Jenos forced Valera to rest, but he did not leave the map's side. He spent the nighttime illuminated by pale moonlight as he stared blankly at the map for hours, trying to think of something, _anything_. He would never credit himself to strategic decisions, that was much more suited to someone like Valera, but he would still try to contribute as much as he could.

Even though there was little he could do at the moment, he wanted to do as much as he could. He felt responsible for what happened, that he could've prevented it from ever happening if he was focusing, but he didn't and he let one of the most important people in his life slip through his fingers. 

Jenos could feel something rising from in his eyes, it pressed against his mask, so he reached up to remove it, and lied it down on the map. He could feel warm and wet tears start to fall down his cheeks. He hadn't cried in a long time, he didn't know this was what it felt like.

_Crying is something that I haven't done in centuries..._

_Why does it hurt so much?_

_There is silence, yet I think that is what hurts me the most._

_\-------_

The sun rose on a new day, the Resistance members that awoke at the campsite for the new day were still low in spirits, but were eager to get started on an attack plan now that they were taking steps in the correct direction. Dreariness and low morale ran out through all of the members, but they all shared a common goal of retrieving one of their own.

Jenos sat in comfortable silence, waiting for the Resistance to rise from their slumber. He contained his worry, he contained how he really felt, he had been doing it for centuries and he wasn't about to stop now, but he could feel his heart cracking. Sometimes he too needed comfort, but he wanted to be there for everyone else, even if it meant that he himself had to suffer.

Already having jotted down a couple of pointers of the castle from the night before, Jenos had gone to scout out the premises, leaving Io on the lookout back at the camp. It was one of the main castles that the Magistrate owned, there were barracks surrounding one side, so if they weren't careful then they might get multiple battalions chasing after them. There were only a few doors, the main entrance which was always guarded and a few back doors but they were near the barracks so using them almost wasn't an option. There were a lot of windows if they got desperate and needed to use them for an entrance, but they needed to be quiet about entering without causing a scene.

Valera stood up next to Jenos at the map, she looked over the few notes he had taken down and nodded a few times. She was rested and could now formulate proper plans without almost passing out, she took the map between her fingers and turned to sit down around the campfire where other Resistance members waited. 

"We must start formulating some ideas about how we will retrieve our lost member, we have his location but we are unsure of where his exact holding inside the castle is. Considering that it is the main castle, it would not surprise me if we encountered Karne on our way in," Valera scowled at the mention of the man's name, after the things she's seen and heard him do, she wouldn't put it past him to not go after one of her own members. She does recall the Magistrate being involved in the Ascension Peak siege, assisting House Aico only to still ultimately fail.

"If it's the central castle, then there will be soldiers everywhere, we'll never be able to get close..." Ying piped up from her seat, she always cherished precious moments that she had with the Resistance, and even with Buck, the brightness he brought to everyday and him body practically emitting light and joy all hours of the day.

"That is exactly why we must make plans as a group so we can all give our input. Due to the situation, there will be some dangerous stunts that might have to take place if we want to get close." Valera turned to the illusionist, worry was clear on Ying's features, but as a leader she showed a reassuring look to her members.

"If we went all stealthy then that might work, disguises or invisibility could probably work," Sha Lin was rocking back and forth in his seat, his idea wasn't a bad one, they would just need reliable enough stealth tactics to get into the castle without getting caught

"Jenos and I probably could, we're able to use our power for things such as that. If I can control what form I exist in, I'm sure I could change my appearance." Io shot up, it wasn't a lie, she had used her power to switch in and out of celestial forms all the time, not like it would be hard for her to do it again.

"I suppose that might be able to work, but we would need a way to be allowed into the castle." Valera was going along with their ideas, they weren't bad ideas and she trusted everyone to be able to make their own decisions.

"Considering that they wanted Buck in their possession for his stellar connections, if we showed the Tau-Kor crest at the door, then there would be a likely chance we would be allowed entry." Jenos flicked his hair between his fingers, if they decided to go along with the idea of using a disguised entry, then he would have to get comfortable in a body that wasn't his own.

"We will make necessary preparations, we will leave as soon as possible."

\----------

Buck shifted awkwardly on the floor, he was unchained and allowed to eat, under strict monitoring, but he refused what they gave him. He would rather starve himself then give any secrets or power, but when it had only been a few days, the people monitoring him weren't worried, he heard them say something about 'giving him another week before they start forcing him to eat'.

There was no natural light where he was held, only torches that were positioned in sconces on the walls. It felt like an eternity since he last saw sunlight, and his body was too weak to talk to Jenos, so he spent his hours in cold silence, with Grand Magister Karne visiting every other hour. Buck hated how spacious his cell was, because it was empty, it made him feel so small, like he was helpless. Even though he really was.

He didn't know what time of day it was, but he could guess, when there were less people standing outside of his cell, it was probably nighttime. But from the sheer amount of people that currently surrounded the door, it meant it was probably day. No visit from Karne yet though, which was a surprise, since he never failed to make some daily rounds to his cell, whether it be to try and drop some smooth talk about the Magistrate or taunt him for how weak he currently was.

Buck heard footsteps, they were definitely Karne's. He knew what his shoes sounded like, with those large boots that scaled his entire calf, the familiar clicking of his boots. Hopefully he wouldn't come with the whip this time, since for every time he talks back to the Magister, he receives ten lashings straight across his back.

Servants parted for Karne to stand in front of his cell, but he wasn't here to talk to him, he turned to one of the women that was watching over Buck, cupping a hand over his mouth and directing his words straight into her ear.

"Some women at the gates have showed up with Tau-Kor and Magistrate crests and they're telling the guards that they came on behalf of the stars and that they will help us in the maintaining of our new prisoner. Do we let them in? I wouldn't put it past them to have some strange telepathy since I'm certain that nobody knows that we're holding this guy here."

"Let them in, we don't want to get mentally killed or anything"

Karne turned on his heel to look at Buck.

"Lucky you, looks like you have some visitors."

\------------

There were only a few objectives, find out where in the castle Buck was being held and create a distraction for the rest of the Resistance to get into the building. Causing a scene be damned at this point.

There plan was written as followed;

Step 1) Io and Jenos infiltrate the castle.

Step 2) Locate Buck's exact holding.

Step 3) Blow hole through the roof and escape with prisoner

Step 4) Resistance creates distraction to keep soldiers away until signal to retreat

Valera went along with it, she didn't make any of the plan herself and she thought it had many flaws to it, but everyone was eager to go along with it and she didn't want to shoot down their morale, even if it was thrown together haphazardly. She thought there was a large chance of the soldiers going straight to protect the prisoner instead of after the gods, but they would pass that bridge if they ever got there.

She had to hand it to Jenos and Io, there disguises were almost perfect, red robes that were pinned up over their hearts with a single red diamond. Skirts fell at their knees and Jenos wasn't very happy. Everyone had agreed that due to Jenos' short stature, it would be much more confusing if he went for a feminine disguise, sure he couldn't change his gender and was still very much male, but he looked more convincing than any actual girl, whether or not that was alarming, the Resistance couldn't tell.

The two gods had stood in waiting at the front gate, they had fake diamonds tattooed on their foreheads, hair pulled back into tight buns of blue and purple respectively. Sure they were gods, but nervousness was eating both of them whole, they needed this to go well or Valera would probably never trust them to make any kind of plans again.

They had spoken to the guards outside who went into the castle to pass on the message of their entry, the two stood in silence, with Jenos refusing to speak unless he needed to, since Io forced him to go all the way, because there was no way he would pass as a girl with a masculine voice.

The guards came back outside the door, leaving the gates open and gesturing for the two to go inside. A servant stood in the opening, asking for the two to follow. She walked through normal halls until she stopped at a bookcase, flicking her hand under one of the books to reveal a hidden passageway. She stopped, pointing down the dark staircase and the two gods descended into what seemed like a labyrinth.

Grand Magister Karne waited at the bottom of the staircase, he bowed before them and the two bowed in return, continuing to feign allegiance, not wanting to make any immediate changes in the plan without warning the others.

"It is an honour to meet with in person members of the Tau-Kor, I believe you would know our predicament best. The public is unaware, as we were waiting until the process was complete before bringing our news to the world. I believe however that you two already know. Our attempts at getting our hands on a god have been fruitless, so instead, we went directly to the closest disciple of one of the gods which people have claimed to also hold celestial power within his body." Karne kept walking along the dark hallway, the two following behind him.

"I would like to clarify that we are no longer with the Tau-Kor, our Magistrate views have caused us to be shunned by them, but there is still much we know if you desire to know it,"

Smooth one Io, smooth.

"Understandable, however, you are welcome here under our roof."

The further the three walked down the hallway, the more servants started appearing. Karne stopped at a cell at the end of hall, looking straight through the cell bars at the prisoner that was chained to the floor.

"We were hoping he would join our side willingly, but it seems we will have to resort to more desperate measures."

Jenos and Io stopped behind him, almost throwing up at what they saw.

Buck looked awful, his face was ghostly pale, scratches and bruises ran all up the front and sides of his body. Chains dug into his large muscles around his wrists, leaving his hands pale and limp from the lack of blood circulation. Dark black bags were under his eyes, evidence of his lack of sleep. Jenos now understood why his attempts to speak to his disciple have been for naught, since his body was much to weak to sustain a celestial connection with someone else. Even if he was only gone for a few days, it had done the devils work to his body.

"Would it be inconvenient if we went in to take closer look at him?" Jenos tried to keep his calm, under a feminine guise, while his heart was pounding out of his chest. He raised a single hand to the door of the cell and ran a single delicate finger over the lock.

"If it is what you need, then of course." Karne fished a key out of his pocket, feeding it into the lock and hearing it click open. The two gods dropped their feigned allegiance, slid right to his side and fiddled with the chains around Buck's back.

"Wait, what in the hell are you doing?!" Karne tried to jump forward to stop them, but Jenos flicked his wrist and slammed the Magister into the wall, Io sat and played around with the locks on the shackles until she heard them click open, dropping them to the floor. The two gods simultaneously dropped their disguises, staring right into his soul. Karne reached out, but it was a weak attempt, he brought his wrist to his mouth and barked orders into a crystal hologram. The gods started to hear commotion outside of the castle.

Io reached up and blasted a hole through the roof, shielding the two from the falling rubble. Jenos reached back, grabbed onto Buck's swollen wrist and rocketed straight through the opening, with Io following closely behind. They watched as the streets outside started to fill with soldiers, Io signaled for the Resistance to retreat, not wanting to risk any kind of fighting that could result in casualty. 

The gods rode the rooftops, evading all attacks that came their way, not stopping to attack and only focusing on making an escape. The sounds of running, metal and shouts filled the air.

\-----------

The night was quiet, the crackle of the fire was all that could be heard. When they returned to their camp, Valera confessed to how dangerous the plan was and that they should've spent more time thinking it through, but she didn't stop them since they were eager to get going. Most of the Resistance had already retreated to their tents, just out of sheer stress, but after everyone had a moment where Buck was pretty much crushed by hugs and drowned by people's tears.

Only Jenos and Buck were left sitting outside, they had moved to their meditation spot so Buck's healing process could be sped up by proper thought and meditation. They had sat in silence for a few moments, but Jenos couldn't stay quiet anymore.

"I apologise, for everything that happened."

The two sat in silence for a few seconds, taking a moment to process what the god had said.

"I'm not gettin' it... What are ya' sorry for?" Buck turned down to Jenos, worry evident in his voice and eyes, even though he was the one who had been held in a prison cell for several days.

"They were after you because of your connections to me... I should have protected you." Jenos shamefully dropped his down down to look into his lap, he was distraught after thinking that this all could've been avoided if he had properly thought of the drawbacks to his actions, that it would turn Buck into a target.

"Hey now... It's not your fault, you didn't know. But I'm back now! So there's no problem," Buck kept the mood light, even when Jenos felt down, but his attempts were fruitless.

"It is just... I have seen what they did to you, yet you can still be so calm about the entire situation? Almost as if it never happened." Jenos felt as if Buck was purposefully ignoring his pain just to make him feel better, it wasn't working.

"Well, you gotta just look at the positive stuff... Not everythin' is gonna go great, so if you always think about the good stuff then life is gonna feel better." Buck nervously rubbed the back of his neck with a swollen wrist.

"I can't help but shake the feeling that I am partially to blame, no matter how many times you tell me I am not in the wrong." Jenos' head started hanging lower, he could feel himself shaken to the core.

"You gotta stop blamin' yourself, I'm back, we're all happy, I'm healin' a little bit with every passin' minute!" Buck tried to reach out a reassuring hand to the god, but it was swatted away in a flurry of anger.

"How am I supposed to when there was the possibility that you wouldn't come back! If anything grave were to have happened to you then I would never be able to forgive myself!" Jenos took his mask off, dropping it in his lap, he let warm tears silently spill down his cheeks.

"B-but... I'm back, and I'm not going anywhere." Buck reached his arms around the shoulders of the god, pulled Jenos into his lap, letting the god be fully encased in the man's muscle. Leaning back, Jenos nuzzled the back of his head into his disciple's chest, letting himself calm down in the silence.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have lashed out... I am just unsure of what I would do if you didn't return... I feel like you are an important piece in my life, and if you never returned then I would feel incomplete." Jenos let Buck reach around his chest and the god rested his hands on where his disciple's hands were clasped.

"Hey now... I'm here, don't worry, I'm alright... You don't need to worry anymore,"

Buck pulled the god up, spinning him around to face him directly. The two locked eyes for a moment, Jenos' own were covered in a sheen of tears. Buck leaned forward, close enough for his lips to ghost over the god's, closing the gap and engaging in a warm and tender kiss. It wasn't rejected and the god opened up to the contact, letting himself melt in the other's hands.

When they parted, both of their gazes were filled with passion, desire and relief. Buck cupped a hand around Jenos' cheek, leaning up to whisper in his ear.

"I'm safe, as long as you're here with me." 

**Author's Note:**

> End notes? Who knows.
> 
> Until next time my dudes.


End file.
